Doctor Who Pirate Planet is now a novel. After decades of waiting for it to come to print, fans can finally read the Douglas Adams story.
Doctor Who The Pirate Planet was the first season penned by writer Douglas Adams in 1978. Due to some legal woes, episodes from this season were excluded from publication. That’s no longer true, and Adams’ story is now available to buy in print (or e-book, if that’s your jam.)
BBC Books turned to James Goss to convert the adventure narrative into print, and it’s still a really good time. He went to great pains to honor the original story, and the book is total labor of love.
You can purchase the book on Amazon for about $20. Here’s how the bookseller summarizes the story, for those unfamiliar with the classic:
“The hugely powerful Key to Time has been split into six segments, all of which have been disguised and hidden throughout time and space. Now the even more powerful White Guardian wants the Doctor to find the pieces.
With the first segment successfully retrieved, the Doctor, Romana and K9 trace the second segment of the Key to the planet Calufrax. But when they arrive at exactly the right point in space, they find themselves on exactly the wrong planet – Zanak.
Ruled by the mysterious ‘Captain’, Zanak is a happy and prosperous planet. Mostly. If the mines run out of valuable minerals and gems then the Captain merely announces a New Golden Age, and they fill up again. It’s an economic miracle – so obviously something’s very wrong.”
The book has a lot of fun extras, as well. As much as it is an adaptation of the story, it also lovingly honors Adams. His notes and drafts are included in the new print, and Goss warns the reader on the first page, this story “probably isn’t what you’re expecting.”
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The book also includes a detailed account of Goss’s attempts at authenticity, and you can tell it’s a real homage to the original author Douglas Adams.
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